The Effect of Digitalisation on Gender Equality in the Haor Region of Kishoreganj: A Case of Union Digital Centers

The study is highlighted by an investigation into the effect of digitalisation on gender equality in Union Digital Centers (UDCs) in the studied area. For this, it has focused on critical issues of gender equality, the relationship between digitalisation and gender equality, identifying gender-based hurdles and finding out how women face challenges. The study followed mixed research approaches. A Questionnaire survey has been applied for quantitative data and a Key Informant Interview (KII) has been used for qualitative data. Primary data has been collected from women entrepreneurs, service recipients, civil society, monitoring authorities and activists for women and experts on digitalisation. Secondary data are gathered from the existing literature, namely books, journals (print as well as electronic), newspapers, reports, published and unpublished research works, seminar papers etc. Women were appointed to the UDCs as entrepreneurs, ensuring smooth communication for all, providing online services, offline services and commercial banking services. The quantitative findings show that the chi-square test has proved a significant relationship between categorical variables. Some limitations have been found which have been pulling back women, that is, subordinate position in society, lack of proper Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training, nepotism, economic dependency, low rate of education, social and religious norms and values, influenced by the local elite, political branding etc. Bangladesh’s government introduced the UDC to facilitate the digitalisation process. It has been proven that digitalisation helps to minimise gender inequality and achieve gender equality. The study has found ways to investigate the effects of digitalisation on gender equality at the Union level. To conduct the study, you have both primary and secondary data.